pumpkins are quintessential October decor! and carving them is really fun however, they only last a little while before they collapse in a mess of rot… so i offer you the No Carve option! in the video above i demo 3 cheap and easy, no carve pumpkin decorating techniques. so you can enjoy your pumpkins a lot longer and still have the fun ritual of honoring the pumpkin as decoration.

No Carve #1: Decoupage

What You Need:

• pumpkin
• clip art – you can print this clip-art that i created of spider and bug art – or use whatever images you like!
• white glue – regular school glue or Modge Podge
• old paint brush or foam brush
• scissors

Do It:

1. mix equal parts glue and water to create your glue mixture.
2. set aside a separate bowl of water
3. cut or rip to separate your clip art
4. soften the paper in the plain water so it’s more flexible and will mold around your pumpkin.
5. paint the back of your clip art piece with a liberal coat of the glue mixture, place it on your pumpkin and paint over the top with more glue mixture
6. repeat step 5 until your entire pumpkin is covered
7. seal with a final coat of less-watered down glue. don’t worry, it will dry clear and the paper will be less transparent when it’s dry too!

No Carve #2: Thumbtacks

What You Need:

• pumpkin
• box of metal thumbtacks
• optional: clip art spider to make it look like a web and fit in with your other pumpkins

Do It:

1. simply pierce the thumbtacks into your pumpkin in whichever design you fancy. you can always take it out and re-place the tacks!
2. decoupage the spider clip art in the same way as the above decoupage steps 4, 5 and 7.

No Carve #3: Marker and Silk Flowers

What You Need:

• pumpkin
• permanent marker
• silk flowers – buy them in the garment district, your local craft store, or online here.
• glue gun

Do It:

1. draw a face on your pumpkin and fill it in with coats of the marker so it looks nice and dark
2. glue the silk flowers on your pumpkins cute bald head!

Happy Halloween!